Saturday, April 24, 2010

Technology gone wrong today and a hundred and ten years ago...










So a friend of mine gave me Microsoft's new GPS map/trip locator with an actual GPS USB plug so if I were dumb enough to drive and compute, I could lock in missile coordinates to hit my car while I drive and believe me,today, I wish I had missile capabilities. Here's why.

This road trip was pretty much my mom's idea from conception to completion. One of the main foci of the trip was to see Mercer Tile/ Fonthill Mansion in Doylestown,PA. So last night, we were staying the night in Newgyburger, NY and I got on my computer and hit the Microsoft trip gps lovefest program and dialed in the location. Starting point: Newgyburger, NY, and then I put in Doylestown. Well, you have to put in counties with this software because, well, there's more than 1 Doylestown. So, I knew this, but really... there's 2 in Pennsylvania and, well, I got it wrong. So we set off this morning and make it to about 60 miles northeast of Harrisburg and about 80 miles past Doylestown, which is in Bucks County, aka, Philly and well, I guess that's when it hit the fan and I wished I could go back to the night before and check wtf I was typing in and getting directions to. So after I post this, yep, I'm checking, and well, that's the first part of Tech gone wrong. The other is building a home out of concrete.
As you'll see in these photos, the Moravian Tile building & mansion is really amazing. And, well, I'm sure architects and the like really admire this place. But, here's the lesson: technology is no substitute for love and personality. Mr. Mercer was never married, he lived alone in a 32 room mansion that is/was a museum. He was a mama's/auntie's boy, his father played little or no role in his adulthood and this home reflects his personality. Cold, intellectual, hungry for knowledge, never satisfied. Tech can be described with such similar words, right?

Click my pics, hug them, love them, lick your screen, just don't eat them even though they are diehlicious.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear you took the long way to Doylestown in Bucks County.

When I visited the Fonthill mansion with my family, I too walked away with a sense that this Mercer guy was just a spoiled rich kid, who chose to spend his money on silly stuff, like that ugly castle/mansion.

One thing that they mention during the tour, but you did not, is that he contracted Syphilis while in Europe and was bed ridden in that cold monument to mal-spent fortune.

He Who Laughs Last said...

Wow! That first picture is amazing! Mental note, men + maps (or GPS) never equals anything good!

Brian Diehl said...

GPS could be an acronym, I won't make up one, just an idea for YOUR blog:) I personally like GPS, just not knowing the 4 options for every town. For example, type in Marion... Lord have mercy....

Who's this Brian guy?

My photo
I'm one of the few people from Wyoming in the midwest. Born and bred, by default I'm a cowboy, through life though I guess I've kept the wanderlust and taken it urban. Having lived in 11 states now, I feel safe to say that I've found home in Indy. I'd never have dreamed I'd live here but 5 years later, I have no complaints! I've been a "lifestyle" photographer for quite a while. Cutting my teeth in landscape photography and photojournalism out West I've developed a style that focuses on simplicity, beauty and life lived well.